1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information recording apparatus for recording information such as images and sounds to a recording medium such as an optical disk, and more specifically, to a technique of shortening a time required for the information recording apparatus to become capable of photographing images since turning on of its power.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an information recording apparatus for recording information such as images to a disk such as an optical disk has a problem in that it takes a long time to become capable of recording information to the disk since turning on power thereof. Specifically, a video camera for recording moving images has a problem in that an opportunity for photographing images is lost because it is unable to record images immediately after power is turned on, and the like.
As a method of solving this problem, there has been a method as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-210002. The method proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-210002 is used to record information such as images in a recording means other than a disk, such as a memory first after its power is turned on, and then recording the information stored first in the memory or the like to the disk after it becomes possible to record to the disk.
The method proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-210002 has characteristics in that images can be photographed immediately after its power is turned on without losing a photographing opportunity even with a video camera and the like by storing data first in the recording means even when recording to the disk is unable to be performed immediately.
However, in this method, even though the information is recorded in the recording means such as the memory until when the disk is ready, it is unable to obtain information on remaining capacity of the disk at a point of time when the memory starts to store the information. Actually, information on a recordable remaining capacity of the disk is obtained after obtaining file information of a considerably later process in preparing the disk.
When it is found that there is no or small capacity left in the disk at this point of time, a problematic situation occurs in that a whole or part of data stored in the memory cannot be recorded to the disk. The situation as described above gives much stress to a user who thinks that the data is recorded to the disk concurrent with the start of photographing (user who does not known that the data is stored temporarily in the memory).
The stress is immeasurable when photographed data is taken at a critical moment and is not recorded in the disk.
When photographing becomes possible after confirming the remaining capacity of the disk to avoid the situation as described above, it becomes impossible to start photographing immediately after turning on of the power.
For example, even when the user tries to start photographing by mounting a new disk to the information recording apparatus, photographing is not permitted until the remaining capacity of the disk is confirmed by reading information thereof even though the remaining capacity of the new disk is sufficient for storing data.
Thus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-317389, for example, proposes a method of solving the problem as described above. The method proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-317389 uses means for monitoring insertion/removal of a recording medium and allows photographing to be started before the disk becomes recordable only when no insertion/removal is made during a period from when its power is turned off to when the power is turned on again.
In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-317389, when the user turns the power on and starts photographing in a state where the disk is kept mounted to the information recording apparatus, the user is allowed to perform photographing without stress because information such as remaining capacity of the disk is held inside. However, the same problem occurs when the disk is replaced.